September 17 2013

3:30 PM

ATLANTA -- At the beginning of the year, Jordan Spieth's goal was to earn his PGA TOUR card for next season, something he figured he'd accomplish through the Web.com Tour.

Needless to say the 20-year-old has exceded even his own expectations.

Spieth is the lone rookie in the field this week at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, where he comes in 13th in the FedExCup standings and with the very real possibility of becoming the first rookie to win the FedExCup.

"It turned out better than I could have expected," Spieth said. "And then to get the call from Freddy (Couples) was a dream come true. I never thought about the Presidents Cup this year."

Through his first three Playoffs events, Spieth hasn't finished outside the top 20, which included a fourth-place finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

This is Spieth's first time playing East Lake but the way the rest of his year has gone, it might not matter. He has eight top 10s this season with half of them, including a win, coming since mid-June.

That's not to suggest Spieth still isn't adjusting to life on TOUR.

When he showed up at the course on Tuesday, there were only two players on the driving range. Then it dawned on Spieth that there are only 30 in the entire field.

"I couldn't see anybody on the golf course," he said. "I guess that's just how it is this week."